Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Everyone's Greatest Swordsman (6)
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“Ha……!”
A voice from beyond the sky laughed in disbelief.
It had asked if there were any challengers, but it clearly hadn’t expected someone to step forward so eagerly, as if they’d been waiting for it.
Then.
Fwaaaash!
Something soon tore through the clouds and shot downward.
“Huh?”
“Ugh……!”
What slammed into Young-woo’s crown, tracing a vivid red trajectory, was none other than.
「將」
The character for “general,” jang.
Just like the mark of death from regional swordsmanship, some kind of mark had attached itself to Young-woo.
“Jang……? Does it mean the one who fights the dragon first?”
Jeong-gu remarked, eyeing the red mark above Young-woo’s head, prompting Yangju’s Greatest Swordsman, Choi Jong-seon, to tilt her head.
“It said for the brave to step up, but it never said it’d fight the marked one first, right?”
In her estimation, the mark was purely for identification.
So the mutant descending to this land could instantly spot the most dangerous among the many Greatest Swordsmen.
“Of course, someone capable of turning into a dragon would seek out the mark anyway.”
She added that such a figure wouldn’t have a mild temper.
Meanwhile, Young-woo ignored the mark on his head and turned his gaze to his father.
“Time to head out, right?”
“…Huh?”
“Dobong-gu. Take Negig and go.”
As Young-woo held out Negig’s steel reins, Jeong-gu flashed a servile smile.
“You’re not lending me anything else? Like a sword.”
Jeong-gu’s eyes were fixed on the ‘Dragon’s Legacy’ at Young-woo’s waist.
He’d wondered if it might be some dragon-slayer weapon, given the dragon-shaped hilt.
But.
“This won’t help at all. And if a dragon shows up in Dobong-gu by some chance, your best bet is to flee as fast as possible.”
Young-woo urged him to just take the mount and go, offering the reins again.
Jeong-gu reluctantly accepted them.
“It’s faster than you think, so grip tight with your thighs.”
After his final reminder to his father, Young-woo turned to Jong-seon.
“Try not to fight today if possible. Things might get even messier than expected.”
It was his way of looking out for the baby.
Even Young-woo couldn’t predict how today’s battle would unfold.
“I wasn’t planning to anyway. Not with the sky like that.”
Jong-seon glanced at the red sky with a nonchalant tone.
Yet contrary to her words, her sword was already drawn from its sheath.
“How do you plan to fight? I’ve never even seen anyone take on multiple mutants at once.”
As Jong-seon stared at the sky and asked, Young-woo looked down at Saseong-a in his right hand.
“The balance between offense and defense is solid right now. I’m confident I can beat the dragon one-on-one, so the issue is the other mutants…….”
Young-woo planned to handle that with friend summons and the auto-combat greatsword ‘Golden Trajectory.’
He could also use the bow Doggo had enhanced with an explosion function.
His gear boasted exquisite synergy, as if built for this very moment.
“…….”
Young-woo gazed at the sky, which seemed even redder now, and began the final preparation: distributing his stats.
* Available Karma: 8,954,500
If he survived, he could earn back whatever taxes he owed today somehow.
‘So let’s spend it all.’
8.95 million karma, all invested in stats.
That converted to 8,950 stat points.
Even a Greatest Swordsman would struggle to know where to allocate that much, but Young-woo was different.
As a former game streamer, he had a good grasp of his gear’s effects.
‘Drinking a potion in a bleeding state boosts strength by 55%. Pump strength too high, and my body might not hold up.’
Also, ideally, his sensory stat should remain the highest even when strength was amplified, requiring some balance.
「Agility」 - Mutant Ring
【When sensory is the highest stat, gain 10% damage reduction.】
‘Sensory usually rises via theft effects, so just maintain a moderate level.’
Young-woo’s “moderate” was half his strength stat.
Precisely, half of the strength boosted 25% by bleeding.
That should trigger the agility effect via sensory theft even in one-on-ones.
‘Arrows scale with sensory too… Perfect.’
With his strategy set, Young-woo executed it.
First, 2,000 points into strength, then adjusted sensory to match half of the final strength value plus 25%.
Remaining points went to stamina and durability, ensuring durability wouldn’t lag far behind the boosted strength.
『Character: Jeong Young-woo07』
[Strength] 5,300 (19+5,281)
[Stamina] 5,148 (21+5,127)
[Durability] 6,298 (13+6,285)
[Sensory] 3,300 (24+3,276)
‘Balanced stats again, huh.’
But induce bleeding and chug a potion, and strength would skyrocket.
Effectively turning him into a ‘strength build.’
‘All prepped now. Dragon or whatever, just come already.’
As Young-woo looked up at the still-red sky, the golden goblin and Popu Tenta, the Tenta tribe’s finest trumpeter slumped behind him, also lifted their heads.
Then, at last.
Fwaaaaang!
Pillars of light began shooting down from the sky.
Markers indicating where mutants and monsters would appear.
Swoooosh!
Soon, a pillar dropped near the Parnass Hotel where Young-woo waited—but contrary to expectations, it was blue.
“Where’s the mutant heading?”
As Young-woo whipped his head around for a red pillar, Jong-seon, watching behind him, tapped his shoulder.
“Over there.”
“Where…….”
Following her gaze, Young-woo’s jaw dropped.
The mutant was set to appear right in the middle of Seolleung Station.
“No way.”
Im Seon-ah’s eyes widened at the red pillar’s location before she snapped back to focus.
“Near Daechi-dong. Evacuations are probably underway, but…….”
That area was full of former office buildings now deemed residences.
If a mutant rampaged there, the all-important housing resource in this reset world could suffer massive damage.
“Unless it’s a high-risk mutant, I can handle it. Don’t worry too much.”
As Young-woo said this, he instinctively tried to call Negig, then sighed realizing it was gone.
Then.
Crunch.
Cracking the ground with his right foot, he prepared to sprint toward Daechi-dong.
***
Gangnam-gu, Daechi-dong.
A prime district in Gangnam-gu, with luxury apartments lining the south and office zones in the north.
Of course, post-Reset, Daechi-dong’s status as a rich area was history.
People now craved homes near Greatest Swordsmen or the riverbanks.
But not everyone could have their pick, so plenty still lived in Daechi-dong, two whole blocks from Gangnam’s Greatest Swordsman residence.
‘Even if no one’s living there right now, we have to preserve buildings as much as possible. You never know which one will break next.’
Young-woo eyed the now-closer mutant marker over Gangnam.
Entering the Seolleung Station area, he passed streams of Daechi-dong residents fleeing the opposite way. Some spotted him and bowed or murmured among themselves.
“Oh, Greatest Swordsman……!”
“Is that Gangnam’s Greatest Swordsman?”
“Looks just like on the commemorative coins.”
“But why’s he half-naked……?”
Today’s Gangnam Greatest Swordsman wasn’t on his iron horse as rumored, yet everyone recognized him easily.
Thanks to the golden rain and commemorative coins showered over Gangnam yesterday.
“Greatest Swordsman, is Daechi-dong done for?”
“Please save our homes from collapsing.”
Essentially evacuating, some residents made these not-quite-requests, and Young-woo empathized each time.
As a renter bouncing between monthly rooms and dorms pre-Reset, he knew the terror of losing even temporary shelter.
In this world, no amount of money let you survive the night without a system-designated, physically intact ‘residence.’
For those already pushed to Daechi-dong’s fringes, this crisis must be pure dread.
To Young-woo, mutants were just spit-spewing monsters; to most, they were still catastrophes.
‘Snipe with arrows the moment it hits the ground—might work.’
Passing another evacuation line, the red pillar slammed south of Seolleung Station came fully into view.
‘One building’s gonna get wrecked no helping it.’
Young-woo scratched his chin at the four-story commercial structure half in the pillar’s path.
But if he could one-shot the mutant on landing, he could prevent further damage.
‘Let’s try it this time. Hit it with an arrow before it lands.’
With boosted sensory and scope-like gear, it might be possible.
「Heavenly Insight」 - Mutant Earring
【Amplify field of view up to 5x.】
5x view meant he could catch the mutant the instant it ripped through the sky.
Clank.
Shifting ‘White Saturation’ from his body to his hands and aiming at the pillar’s apex, Jong-seon arrived behind him and cocked her head.
“What’re you… doing this time?”
“Preemptive strike.”
“……?”
“Kill it before it lands. Worst case, still land a critical hit.”
Jong-seon tilted her head.
“…That possible?”
“Who knows. Gotta try.”
“Maybe it’s got merchant-like invincibility while descending. In comics, villains never touch transforming foes—it’s a rule.”
“I’m no villain.”
Young-woo’s trailing “might still hit it” went unsaid.
Kwaaaaa……!
The red pillar began to throb right on cue.
Day 5 mutants were about to return to this world.
“Whoa, already? Time flies.”
Jong-seon clutched her baby tight and stepped back, while the golden goblin and Popu Tenta advanced, raising arms.
-Kee!
-Bawat……!
‘Coming any second now.’
Seeing the slaves’ cheer motions, Young-woo checked the time.
12:58 PM.
Then 59 seconds, and the pitch-black sky rippled.
Rumble!
Thunder from beyond the blood-red clouds.
The beast-like roar made the red pillar quiver faintly.
Slowly opening.
The passage linking this world and the mutants’ domain.
Kwarung!
Another thunderclap, then immediately.
Kwachak!
A tearing sound from the pillar’s tip in the sky.
And at that moment, Young-woo.
“Huuuup.”
Held his breath, aiming at the mutant’s drop point via ‘Heavenly Insight.’
Then.
―Kraaaaaargh!
With the familiar bellowing roar, a black silhouette appeared over his aim point.
‘Here it comes……!’
Target acquired—loose arrow.
Twang!
Releasing the taut bowstring, the dense energy gathered before White Saturation rocketed skyward.
Screeeee!
Doggo’s special stealth arrow cleaved the air in a blink, then.
Boom!
A purple psychic explosion erupted, followed by today’s Gangnam mutant feedback.
―Kak……!
The mutant spewed purple smoke, veering off-course into a slant dive.
Young-woo grinned excitedly, drawing Saseong-a from his waist.
“Let’s chase it down quick! Doesn’t look dead yet!”